2017 BERKSHIRE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (BIFF) call for submissions opens October 10th!

The call for submissions opens October 10, 2016 for feature, documentary and short films. Selected films will be chosen by the end of March and announced in April. The 11th annual festival will be held June 1-4, 2017 at the Triplex Cinema, the historical Mahaiwe Theatre, the Beacon Cinema and other venues throughout Great Barrington and Pittsfield. The submissions deadline is March 8, 2017. The 2017 festival will mark the 12th annual season and plans to showcase nearly 75 of the best films that are currently being produced in independent filmmaking. BIFF 2017 will once again feature an audience award and a juried prize for documentary and narrative feature films sponsored by GWFF. The Juried Prize will carry a $5,000 cash prize.

The Berkshire International Film Festival is for filmmakers and film lovers alike to be entertained, educated and inspired. BIFF seeks to celebrate independent film and to recognize and pay tribute to accomplished artists on both sides of the camera in the international, national and regional film community.

The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) is for filmmakers and film lovers alike to be entertained, educated and inspired. BIFF seeks to celebrate independent film and to recognize and pay tribute to accomplished artists on both sides of the camera in the international, national and regional film community. BIFF aims to provide filmmakers, producers, directors, writers and actors an environment to collaborate, present their work, and interact with each other and with film audiences. Specific priorities of the Festival are to showcase the most challenging and topically relevant documentaries each year, and provide a platform for Berkshire filmmakers.

The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFFMA) is a festival which celebrates independent feature films, documentaries and shorts regionally, nationally and internationally. The BIFF opened its’ inaugural year with Robert Altman’s “A Prairie Home Companion” and screened over 40 films including “Road to Guantanamo,” “Man Push Cart,” “Wordplay,” “Iraq in Fragments,” and “12 and Holding.” In the 2007 season, the BIFF expanded to three days and opened with the Sundance hit “Rocket Science” and screened over 50 films including “Broken English,” “La Vie En Rose,” “Eagle Vs. Shark,” “Crazy Love,” and “In the Shadow of the Moon.” The honoree was the legendary director, Arthur Penn.

The third annual BIFF opened with the Academy Award Winning documentary “Man on Wire” and screened over 60 films including “My Winnipeg,” “Mr. Foe,” “Up the Yangtze,” “Mongol,” “The Grocer’s Son,” “Flow; For Love of Water,” “American Teen,” and the Academy Award Nominated film “Frozen River.” The 2008 Honoree was Kevin Bacon.

A few years ago, the BIFF screened over 75 films and opened with the award-winning film Joan Rivers “A Piece of Work,” and honored the award-winning indie-star Patricia Clarkson screening her latest film “Cairo Time.” The BIFF featured some of the best films of the year including “I Am Love,” “Lebanon,” “Ondine,” “A Shine of Rainbows,” “Ahead of Time,” “Climate Refugees,” “The Oath,” “Inferno,” “The Last Train Home,” “Waste Land,” and the closing night presentation featured “The Extra Man.”

Last year, the BIFF featured the buzz-worthy films “Page One; Inside the New York Times” and “Buck” as opening and closing night films. BIFF also featured “Beginners,” “Bellflower,” “Happy, Happy,” “Henry of Navarre,” “Kinyarwanda,” “The Trip,” “Chasing Madoff,” “Crime After Crime,” “Granito,” “Miss Representation,” “Rebirth,” “Troubadours,” “We Were Here,” “Windfall,” and “You Don’t Like the Truth: 4 Days Inside Guantanomo.” In addition, the BIFF honored legendary filmmaker and visual effects pioneer Doug Trumbull which included the screening of Terrance Malick’s “Tree of Life” which Trumbull served as the visual effects consultant.

The BIFF has also continues its Juried Prize for narrative and documentary films carrying a $5000 prize sponsored by GWFF and an audience award for best short film also carrying a $5000 prize sponsored by the Berkshire Bank.

Each year, the Berkshire International Film Festival highlights the best in independent films and is a place where filmmakers can showcase their work in a beautiful and culturally engaged festival. BIFF brings the best in political, cultural, environmental and topical films to our engaged community in the Berkshires and from NYC and Boston. It is a festival for everyone!

Films must be a Berkshire Premiere (films must not have previously been screened in the Berkshires, with the exception of Berkshire fund-raising film events.) All films must be submitted on DVD or Blu-Ray for consideration. Only one title per entry; two copies of each screener is preferred but not required. Please mark the DVD with the title of your project, WAB tracking number, running time, your name, address, phone, and category. All entries will become the property of the BIFF and will not be returned unless a self-addressed stamped mailer is enclosed.

Films will be showcased at the BIFF on either 35mm, D-Cinema, HD-Cam Bu-Ray or DVD. The preferred format is Blu-Ray or DCP. Selected filmmakers will be notified approximately March 30, 2016.

Participants agree that all materials related to their film may be published in the Festival Program, Web Page and all other promotional materials or property and in all media. If selected for a screening, all commercial/private property including trademark and /or copyrighted materials shown and recorded in the project must come with authorized permission for screening. The BIFF holds no responsibility for prints damaged upon arrival and may reject or replace the film in the Festival if this requirement is not met. BIFF will keep a copy of the film for the film library. The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless BIFF from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.